Sawiris denies interest in Roma takeover
Businessman Naguib Sawiris has denied that he is interested in buying Serie A club Roma.
Media reports had suggested that Sawiris might be involved in bid to takeover the Giallorossi as the club’s parent company Italpetroli is in debt estimated at $570m.
However, the 54-year-old telecom mogul insisted that he hadn’t even considered biding for the Italian club.
Those reports are totally false. I have no intention of buying Roma, Sawiris was quoted as saying by BBC Arabic. If I thought about buying any club, my attention will be directed to (Egyptian club) Al Ahly.
Under the current laws, Egyptian clubs can t be sold because they are government owned, according to Filgoal.com
Police shoot Nigerian woman on Israel border
Egyptian police on Sunday shot and wounded a Nigerian woman as she tried to cross the border illegally into Israel, a security official said.
Police asked the woman to stop but she ignored calls and continued to head towards Israel forcing police to fire shots, the official said.
The 24-year-old woman was taken to El-Arish hospital in north Sinai, where her condition was said to be critical, the official said.
In recent months Egypt has arrested dozens of illegal immigrants, mostly Africans, trying to sneak into Israel from the Sinai in search of work. Several have been killed while trying to cross the frontier. -AFP
Arab Bank Group enters $900m loan deal for Orascom Construction Industries
The Arab Bank Group has recently signed a $900 million loan agreement along with eight global and regional banks for Orascom Construction Industries (OCI).
According to Jordan Times, Arab Bank was the mandated lead arranger.
The loan will be utilized to partly finance the recent acquisition of the Egyptian Fertilizer Company (EFC) by OCI.
Arab Bank Chairman/CEO Abdul Hamid Shoman said the bank s participation in the agreement underlines the vital and leading role it plays in managing and extending large loans, reflecting on Arab Bank s strategy seeking to meet the financing demands in Arab and international markets, especially in the services and production sectors, the Jordanian paper quoted him as saying.
Eye on Market
The Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange announced that a Tender Offer on Cairo Medical Tower Laboratory (Alborg Laboratory) Took Place on May 4. The CASE said 3,459,109 shares were on offer, LE 225 each.
Egypt s Misr Cement Qena announced a 29.2 percent increase in net profit in the first quarter of 2008 compared to the same period last year. In a statement posted on the CASE, the company said its net profit in the first quarter reached LE 89.79 million.
The company reported a net profit of LE 69.48 million in the first quarter of 2007, Reuters reported. Shares in the company were trading 0.2 percent lower at LE 71.10 Monday morning, the news agency said.
Savola Group plans to increase its annual sugar refining capacity in Egypt by 400,000 tons to reach 1.2 million tons, within two years.
According to Beltone Financial the company aims to fill in the gap in the local market, which is estimated at around 1.2 million tons. There are plans to establish a 200,000 tons per annum sugar refinery that will process sugar beets, at a cost of $150 million. In addition, the company plans to expand the capacity of its existing sugar refinery, which is located in Ain Sokhna, from 750,000 tons to 950,000 tons, Beltone added. The Ain Sokhna plant, which was established at a cost of around $187 million, started commercial operations on Sunday. According to Savola’s CEO, the expansions are expected to increase Savola’s turnover by SAR2.5 billion, and will raise the company’s total sugar production capacity to 3 million tons annually.
Reuters reported that Ezz Steel, the largest independent steel producer in the Middle East, announced on Saturday plans for a bond issue worth LE 1.1 billion ($204.8 million) to pay debts owed to banks.
In a newspaper advertisement, the company said it will issue 11 million bonds in one tranche, each with a nominal value of LE 100 Egyptian pounds and an 11.5 percent coupon.
According to the news agency, Ezz Steel said each investor should buy a minimum of 10 bonds in the public subscription, which starts in two weeks and lasts for up to two months. Shares in the company last traded 2.2 percent up on Wednesday at LE 95.05 a share.
Emergency plane to collect injured Russians from Egypt
Russia s Emergency Ministry is sending a plane to Egypt to collect six Russian citizens injured in a bus crash near the town of Sharm-el-Sheikh.
Four of them are in a critical condition, Russia Today reported.
The bus was travelling from the popular resort to the country s capital, Cairo.
The vehicle overturned after the driver reportedly lost control on a sharp bend in the road. The bus caught fire, badly burning many of the victims.
In total 16 Russians were injured.
